Visconti prevails once again in Italian road racing championships

Giovanni Visconti of the Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli team took his national road racing title number three in Aci Catena, Sicily. The defending champion was the quickest in a five-man lead group, outsprinting BMC's Mauro Santambrogio and Simone Ponzi (Liquigas) after 208.8 kilometers. Visconti also won the amateur title in 2003.

An emotional Visconti had a hard time describing his feelings after the finish. "The cheering after the arrival gave me goose bumps," he said. The orders of team director Luca Scinto were quite clear. "Lose it, but lose it in a sprint," he told Visconti. The Italian answered a lot of the attacks himself, following through on the team's order. "When I saw the finish I knew it was done."

Despite knowing the feeling, Visconti was ecstatic about 'his' race. "The tricolore gives me a special feeling," he said about the green-white-red champion's jersey.He had worked hard for it. "Winning it again in Sicily, in front of my folks, was an important dream that I was able to follow through on."

With three very active BMC riders in the break - Santambrogio, Ivan Santaromita and Alessandro Ballan - Visconti had his work cut out. Visconti was briefly alone with Santambrogio and Santaromita, less than 18 kilometers from the finish. But others managed to come back, making the situation less clearcut for BMC.

Visconti's weekend isn't over yet. "Now the time trial, which is a discipline that I like and I really want to do it. Then vacation." Afterwards he is curious how Paolo Bettini will decide for the World Championships. "I am at his disposal," Visconti said.

Despite not winning, the BMC team was happy with silver. Having three riders in the decisive break that formed in the seventh of nine laps on the 26.1-kilometer parcours was great. "It was an impressive display by the BMC Racing Team," said Assistant Director Fabio Baldato. "It shows Mauro is on form for the Tour of Austria, Ivan is ready for the Tour de France and Alessandro is ready for his next race."

Mauro Santambrogio's silver medal finish led three BMC Racing Team riders in the top 10 Saturday at the Italian road race national championships.

Only 23 riders finished the race, with Marco Bandiera (Quick Step) crossing the line in last place, 12 minutes behind Visconti. The race was shortened by one lap, from its originally scheduled 234 to 208.8 kilometers.